Visalia Mayor reports a balanced budget

September 14, 2012 12:59:31 AM PDT

VISALIA, Calif. --

The mayor of Visalia says there's progress to report even as the city deals with financial challenges.

"This is our first year in about four years that we've actually had a balanced budget and we haven't had to go into our reserves -- so that's a big deal. We're not off the critical list, we're still in there. But with so many cities around us declaring bankruptcy and whatnot, we're doing well," said Mayor Amy Shuklian.

Thursday night Visalia Mayor Amy Shuklian and Vice Mayor Steve Nelsen delivered a state of the city address. That balanced budget did come at a cost with some reductions in workforce.

The state of the city event also gave the mayor a chance to explain how local government works, addressing everything from public safety to parks.